City seeks more money for streetcars

May 5, 2010 Our Stories 1 Comment  E-mail This Post

City officials are expected to present plans for a downtown streetcar line to a federally funded study group on Thursday morning that could help pay some of the proposed route’s engineering costs.

(illustration by adrian palomo)

“It’s a little unclear what our role will be in this,” says Peter Beitzel, chairman of the Milwaukee Connector Transit Study’s Steering Committee and vice-president at the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce who has long followed transit issues.

The committee formed about a decade ago with a $9.5 million federal grant to study transit improvement in the area, including how to split up $91.5 million in federal funds county and city officials had argued over since 1991. The committee spent $5.9 million to study and recommend a guided electric bus system, but Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and County Executive Scott Walker vetoed the project in 2006.

City officials could request part of the committee’s remaining funds (only about $3.6 million is left from the original $9.5 million federal grant) to pay for preliminary engineering of the proposed Downtown Streetcar Circulator, a circuit running through Downtown and the city’s Lower East Side. A Monday story in NewsBuzz released the proposed route, which was distilled from three alternatives presented in an October public meeting.

The city already has Congress’ approval to use 60 percent of the $91.5 million for the streetcar project. But using some of the committee’s money would require both approval from both federal officials and committee members, which also include Richard Geyer, president of the Wisconsin Center District (operator of the Midwest Airlines Center, U.S. Cellular Arena and Milwaukee Theatre) and one representative each from city and county government.

The city representative, Jeff Mantes, heads the city Department of Public Works, which is leading the streetcar project. (Hmm, Guess he’ll support the idea.) County appointees to the committee vary, according to Beitzel. “It’s possible they won’t even send anyone because it’s a city project.”

He says he hasn’t yet received projections of preliminary engineering costs though he has heard estimates the process could last nine months to a year. Details are expected to be discussed during Thursday morning’s meeting, which will be closed to the public.

A federal grant application obtained by NewsBuzz  requesting up to $25 million in additional federal funding for the Circulator estimates planning, environmental assessment and “final design costs” totaling $3.1 million for the core streetcar route and $1.8 million for two extensions to the route that would be built if the application succeeds.

Both Barrett and Gov. Jim Doyle penned letters supporting the project that were attached to the application. “The service, once in place, will service Milwaukee’s most economically diverse and highest population neighborhoods,” Barrett says.